NEW YORK –

Harley-Davidson Inc., which is facing steep discounts from Japanese competitors taking advantage of a weak yen, is stepping up as an unlikely supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

The pact, agreed to this month, lacks enforceable currency manipulation terms and cuts tariffs on large bikes, opening Harley to more competitors in the U.S. heavyweight segment that it dominates. It would appear to be another hit to the battered motorcycle maker, yet the trade agreement's impact on the firm may not be all bad.

The TPP will lower barriers for Harley's bikes in some of the largest motorcycle markets in the world, Chief Executive Officer Matt Levatich said in an interview in New York. Harley plans to open as many as 200 stores in emerging markets by 2020, focusing on large cities like Kuala Lumpur, Saigon and Seoul.

In Vietnam, a country the size of New Mexico, consumers buy 3 million motorcycles each year, six times the rate in the U.S. Milwaukee-based Harley has only two stores there, compared with 700 in its home market.

"Having an advantage in those markets is more valuable to Harley-Davidson than the disadvantage we have in our home market that the Japanese enjoy," Levatich said. "So when we look at it on balance, TPP is a good thing for Harley-Davidson."

Harley-Davidson, the biggest U.S. motorcycle maker, has been hit hard by currency swings since late last year. The company trimmed its shipments outlook again Tuesday after recent discounting cut into its sales.

The shares fell the most in six years Tuesday in New York, bringing the year-to-date decline to 27 percent. Polaris Industries Inc., the maker of a rival Indian brand of bikes, fell as much as 13 percent, the steepest intraday decline since November 2008, on Wednesday after saying motorcycle inventories rose 30 percent.

Levatich is boosting Harley's marketing and product development by $70 million and cutting about 250 jobs to help pay for the increase. The marketing will help attract new riders to motorcycling in the U.S., where large-bike registrations have fallen 45 percent from 2006 levels. In emerging markets, where there is less need to generate demand for motorcycles, the money will help build out Harley's distribution network, Levatich said.

While motorcycle ownership in the U.S. has started to climb back toward its pre-recession levels, last year's total remained 35 percent below 2008's, when almost half a million large motorcycles were registered in the U.S. Sales in the country rose 25 percent during that same period.

"They have that long-term challenge of continuing to increase awareness of motorcycling as a sport and a lifestyle," Robin Diedrich, an analyst with Edward Jones & Co., said in an interview. "That's an industrywide problem, but for them, as half the market, that's clearly a big issue."

Levatich said he does not intend to take on more debt or increase Harley's stock repurchase plan beyond the 15 million-share expansion of the program in June.

The aim of the marketing push is to secure Harley's leadership. Half of the large bikes sold in the U.S. are Harleys, while no competitor's share exceeds 10 percent, Levatich said.

"We're putting our foot down on market leadership because it's incredibly important and everybody else will duke it out in sub-10 land for share gains," he said. "Let us compete on our merits, because they're substantial and we're going to dial them up."